Cooking in Pajamas

Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod . 2/3 cup Sweetened condensed milk (about 1/2 can) 1 Egg white 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla 1/8 tsp Salt 1 1/2 c. Sweetened coconut flakes 2 c. Unsweetened coconut flakes 1/2 c. Dulce de leche Cadbury Mini Chocolate eggs (or other Easter eggs) Preheat the oven to 325°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. In a large bowl, whisk the egg white with vanilla and salt for about 30 seconds.  Then stir in the condensed milk until well combined. Mix in the coconut flakes. Using a cookie dough scoop, take about 1 tbsp of dough, slightly packed, and place onto the baking sheet.  Gently flatten the top with your hand. Bake for 15-17 min, until the bottom edges are golden brown.  Remove the nest from the oven and immediately press down the center with your thumb to make an indentation.  Allow the cookies to cool for about 10 min and transfer them onto a cooling rack. Add about 1/2 tsp of dulce de lech...

Adapted from Easy Decadent Truffles on Allrecipes and inspired by Oreo Truffles from The Girl Who Ate Everything . 8 oz (1 pkg) Light cream cheese, room temperature 2 c. Icing sugar, sifted 3 c. Oreo crumbs 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla 2 c. Dark chocolate chips 6 oz Baker's white chocolate (not chocolate chips!) In a large bowl, whisk together the oreo crumbs and icing sugar.  If not sifted beforehand, make sure there is no sugar lumps. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Slowly add the oreo/sugar mixture until well blended. Chill for 1 hour to firm up the cream cheese mixture. Melt the chocolate (white or dark) in the microwave on high power, stirring every 30 seconds until most of the chocolate are melted.  Then, remove from the microwave and stir until all the chocolate is melted and no lumps are left. Roll the chilled cream cheese mixture into 1" balls.  Working quickly, dip cream cheese balls into melted chocolate using 2 forks (or spoons).  Place on wa...

1/4 c. Vegetable oil 1/2 c. Brown sugar* 2 tsp Vanilla extract 1/2  tsp Almond extract (optional)* 2 Eggs 1 3/4 c. All purpose flour 1/4 tsp Salt 1 tsp Baking powder 1/2 c. Dried cranberries (mine were pomegranate flavoured) 1/2 c. White chocolate chips*   [Note: Original recipe used 3/4 cups of white sugar instead of brown sugar and it also used the 1/2 tsp of almond extract and 1 1/2 cups of pistachio nuts. Omit salt if using salted pistachios.] Preheat oven to 300°F. Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Mix oil and sugar together until well combined.  Add vanilla (and almond extract, if using).  Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Combine flour, salt and baking powder.  Slowly stir into the egg mixture.  The dough will be soft and sticky. Fold in the cranberries and white chocolate chips. Divide the dough in half and form two long skinny logs.  Silicone spoons works well for forming the logs since the...

Adapted from Cookie Craft . 1 c. Butter, unsalted 3/4 c. Brown sugar 1 Egg 2 tsp Vanilla extract 2 3/4 c. All purpose flour 1/2 tsp Salt Sugar sprinkles [Note-1: If you are not decorating with sugar sprinkles, increase the sugar content to 1 cup.] [Note-2: I have made this recipe using white granulated sugar instead of brown sugar.  The cookies were lighter in colour and has a gritty crunch to them which adds character to the texture.  I liked it.  If you are using only white sugar, reduce the flour to 2 1/2 cups; the 2 3/4 cups makes a crumbly dough and it's harder to work with.] [Note-3:  Substitute the vanilla extract with 1 vanilla bean for the great vanilla flavour.] Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Brown the butter over the stovetop and transfer to another mixing for cooling. Once the butter is no longer hot to touch, beat in the brown sugar until all the lumps are gone. Add the ...

Cake recipe adapted from Joy of Baking and filling recipe adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything . 1 3/4 c. All purpose flour 3/4 c. Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1 tsp Baking powder 1/4 tsp Baking soda 1/4 tsp Salt 3/4 c. Unsalted butter, room temperature 3/4 c. White sugar 1 Egg, room temperature 1 tsp Vanilla extract 1/4 c. Buttermilk (or 1/4 c. Milk + 3/4 tsp Lemon juice) 1/2 c. Strong coffee, lukewarm (or 1/2 c. Water + 1 tsp Instant coffee) 1 pkg (8 oz.) Light cream cheese, room temperature 1/4 c. Unsalted butter, room temperature 2 c. Icing sugar 1.5 tsp Peppermint extract 10-15 Small candy canes, crushed Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicon mat. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Combine buttermilk and coffee. Set aside. Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture in 3 additions...

2 1/4 c. All-purpose flour 1 tsp Baking powder 1/4 tsp Salt 1 c. Butter, unsalted, room temperature 2/3 c. Sugar 2 Egg yolks 1/4 tsp Cinnamon 1/4 tsp Nutmeg (freshly grated if possible) 1/4 tsp ground Ginger 1/4 tsp ground Cloves 1/4 tsp ground Coriander 1/4 tsp ground Cardamom 1 c. Cinnamon Chips Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Combine all the dry ingredients. Set aside. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks. Add the flour mixture in two additions and mix until clumpy. Gather the dough into a ball. Roll the dough into 1" balls and place on baking sheets.  Flatten the balls a little with the bottom of a small glass. Bake until the cookies are golden brown, approximately 7-9 min. Cool the cookies on a baking rack. My comments: Ever had the Chai Latte from Starbucks?  It is one of my all-time favourite latte.  Mmm...yum!!   Imagine my excitement when I saw this Cinnamon Chip Chai Shortbread Bars recipe . ...

Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce 1 8 oz. package of Fresh cranberries 1/2 c. Sugar 1.5 tbsp Fresh squeezed orange juice Zest from 1 orange 2 tbsp Grand Marnier Preheat oven to 325°F. Toss the cranberries together with sugar, orange juice and orange zest in a glass baking dish. Cover with foil and place the glass dish on a baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour. Remove the cranberries from the oven and stir in the Grand Marnier. Store in the refrigerator until use. Thumbprint Cookie 2 1/4 c. All-purpose flour 1 tsp Baking powder 1/4 tsp Salt 1 c. Butter, unsalted, room temperature 2/3 c. Sugar 2 Egg yolks Zest from 1 orange 1 tbsp Freshly squeezed orange juice 1 tsp Vanilla extract 1/3 c. Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce (optional: puree sauce) Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in ...

2 Butternut squash, peeled and cubed 1 Onion, diced 6 c. Chicken broth, low sodium 2 Bay leaves 2 Cinnamon sticks (~ 3-4 in. long) 1-2 pkg Cream cheese, light Place all the ingredients, except for the cream cheese, into the slowcooker.  Ensure the broth is covering the squash but do not fill it up too high because you will need to save room for the cream cheese. Cook for 10 hours. Discard the Bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Puree the soup and the cream cheese together using a blender or food processor.  You can add 1-2 packages of cream cheese, depending on how creamy you want your soup to be. Transfer the soup back into the slowcooker to keep warm.  Do not boil.  (Alternatively, you can warm up the soup on the stovetop.) My comment: I've made the Brandy-laced Squash Soup several times and I love it but I am ready to try a different squash soup recipe this year.  I found a really easy squash soup recipe with great reviews and thought I'd...

Cake: 1 c. Butter, unsalted, room temperature 2 c. Sugar 3 Eggs, room temperature 3 c. Flour 2 tsp Baking powder 1/4 tsp Salt 1/8 tsp Nutmeg 1 c. Eggnog 1 tsp Vanilla extract 1 tbsp Orange zest 1 c. Dried cranberries Dark rum, a few table spoons, enough to cover the cranberries Glaze: 2 tbsp Orange juice 2 tbsp Dark rum 3/4 c. Sugar Preheat the oven to 325°F. (Butter the bundt pan if it is not a silicone mold.) Soak the cranberries in the rum for about 15 min. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy, 30-45 seconds. Add sugar and beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Stir together with a fork. Combine the eggnog and vanilla extract. At low speed, add the dry ingredients and the eggnog to the butter mixture in 4 additions, alternating between wet and dry, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Fold in th...